By now, most of us take the internet for granted, not unlike any utility resource. Its popularity is seldom considered together with its vulnerability--technical, behavioral, political, etc. In fact, I would ponder as whether or not the vulnerability of the internet grows with its popularity, especially beyond reaching some adoption threshold.

Here are two directions in which the internet as we know it today may go into:

Stuff of any value won't be free of charge;

Countries, or groups thereof, will enforce permanent or temporary "safe areas;" communications in and out of such areas will have to be cleared at router level.

In evaluating the above suggestions, just consider the "unipolar world" as a brief between bi- and multi-polarity, and the fact that advertising alone cannot pay for it all. In fact, if one really understood the eventual costs of the "free stuff," one might volunatrily want to pay for it, no strings attached. Just like paying to have your phone number unlisted...